It didn’t take all that long, but what we’ve known all along is now showing itself in the standings—the Miami Heat will be a dominant team when the playoffs come around, and they’re the easy favorites to repeat as NBA champs.

Sure, there were some early scuffles and their last two wins were close calls, but the Heat have won four straight and for the first time this season have regained their rightful spot at the top of the power rankings.

8. Denver Nuggets. Looking ever more comfortable in Denver, Andre Iguodala had his highest scoring games (23 and 29 points) of the season in the Nuggets’ two previous wins.

9. Los Angeles Clippers. After a big win in San Antonio and a near-miss in overtime in Oklahoma City, the Clippers wrapped up their road trip with duds in Brooklyn and Atlanta, losing both by double-digits.

20. Indiana Pacers. There was a sense that the team might need some adjustment time without star forward Danny Granger. But they’ve needed too much time and have too much adjusting left to go.

21. Portland Trail Blazers. After completely derailing in Sacramento last year, J.J. Hickson is getting his career back in order. He is averaging 11.3 points and a career-best 10.8 rebounds.

22. Minnesota Timberwolves. Three games with Kevin Love have not been enough to resuscitate Minnesota’s struggling offense. The Timberwolves are carrying a five-game losing streak.

23. Phoenix Suns. All summer, Luis Scola kept reminding us that he might be 32, but that’s not that old. And he’s produced for the Suns, with 13.1 points and 7.2 rebounds in 27.7 minutes.

24. Orlando Magic. Not an easy row to hoe for the Magic. They’ll get the Spurs and Nets at home, then embark on a five-game road trip through the Western Conference.

25. Sacramento Kings. Coach Keith Smart on DeMarcus Cousins, who was ejected from Sunday’s win: “We're going to still love him and coach him.”

26. Detroit Pistons. You know Detroit is struggling when even Charlie Villanueva gets 19 minutes of floor time. He did score 17 points.

27. New Orleans Hornets. Reserve guard Brian Roberts was their leading scorer in Sunday’s loss, and Roger Mason Jr. was the starting shooting guard. That’s not how things were supposed to go.

28. Cleveland Cavaliers. Rookie Dion Waiters has been getting into the lane for the Cavaliers, but he's noticing that he isn't getting many calls, averaging just 2.5 free throws per game. That will change.

29. Toronto Raptors. Toronto was hoping that rookie Jonas Valanciunas would be the piece that bolstered the defense, but the team’s efficiency on that end has dropped from 14th in the league to 22nd.

30. Washington Wizards. It's 11 games into the season, and rookie guard Bradley Beal has already compared the team’s start to a depression. Someone should remind them he still has 71 games to go.